Determination of behavioral risk factors in seyhan district of Adana city

ABSTRACTDetermination of Behavioral Risk Factors in Seyhan District of Adana CityIn this study we searched health related behavioral risk factors in Seyhan districtof Adana city. We used 'telephone interview' as the research method. We determinedour sample from the home telephones in Seyhan district by "cluster sampling". Thequestionnaire that we used in our study was modified from the questionnaire especiallydesigned to conduct by telephone interview which is used in United States during"Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System" research. During the interviews we used"Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing" system (CATI system) while asking thequestions and recording the data. The Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewingsystem that we used during sampling and collecting the data was based on "UysalWebQ 1.0" software. The interviews were conducted in "Telephone and InternetResearch Center of Cukurova University" and were completed in 1181 personssuccesfully.74.8% of the sample were between 18-44 years old. Mean age was 38.26±12.64.33.8% of the people were doing regular physical acitivity. The smoking prevalance wasfound as 30.4%. Alcohol consumption prevalance was 36.5% in men and 7% in women.3.7% of the responders mentioned that they had asthma diagnosis, and 4.7% of theresponders answered that they were diabetic. 48% of the sample have answered thatthey lost one or more of their teeth because of tooth decay.The results of our study were similar with those which have been donepreviously. Our study showed that in the field studies which were designed to conducton a large area and to reach large number of people, telephone interview method has notonly advantages for cost and time but also provides reliable data as well.Keywords: Seyhan, behavioral risk factors, telephone interview,computer assisted telephone interviewing